MovieChat Forums > East Side, West Side (1950) Discussion > Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse

posted 9 years ago by robert_waggoner62
6 replies | jump to latest

Of all the hotties in this one Cyd Charisse, to me, stood out --- I could see with the right casting she would be as sexy as Ava Gardner --- and history proves that --- and she held her beauty till the end ---

[–] practicepiano 9 years ago

I was struck by Charisse and Gardner's characters being in the same scene, one being hit on by the same man who'd had an affair with the other.

It made me think he had a "type" (not that anyone with working eyes would not see both of those women as gorgeous, but they really had a lot in common physically).

[–] krdement 9 years ago

Cyd Charisse trips my trigger as consistently as the most famously beautiful actresses of her era. She was so beautiful and talented that I am always puzzled that she isn't accorded real Superstar status. But unlike Stanwyck and Gardner, I struggle to remember films in which she starred. I guess that was her bane - she just didn't get many roles in films that have entered the collective pop culture consciousness. That's a pity. I would certainly enjoy feasting my eyes on her more often than I can on TCM et al.

John 3:16

[–] robin-moss2 8 years ago

Cyd Charisse became one of MGM's major stars. I'm surprised you struggle to recall films in which she starred.

Cyd Charisse was one of the best dancers the movies ever had and was certainly the most expressive. When she danced, Cyd could express more than most actresses can with a page of dialogue.

Cyd's film career falls into two parts: before Singin' In The Rain and after. She was first hired by MGM to be just one of their stable of dancers, and MGM started by giving her small parts where she played nice girls who didn't make a fuss. East Side, West Side is an example of this. In Singin' In The Rain she played a sexy, gangster's moll who vamps Gene Kelly. Cyd was so sensational in that dance routine that from then on MGM nearly always cast her as an ice-cold babe who needs to be warmed up by the right man.

I strongly advise you to see her early movie On An Island With You and then starring vehicles like The Band Wagon and Silk Stockings. You should certainly make a point of watching her One Alone dance number in Deep In My Heart and the Frankie And Johnny routine from Meet Me In Las Vegas.

[–] krdement 8 years ago

Thanks for your reply with suggested viewing. I am afraid that you and I are in complete agreement about Cyd Charisse, but complete disagreement about her films. Of the films you mention, my favorite (and probably her biggest role) is Meet Me in Las Vegas, which is a cute, musical romantic comedy, but hardly one that has entered the film zeitgeist. The Band Wagon is corrupted (I do not say "ruined.") by the last gasp of Fred Astaire's ego, and is hardly a film I go out of my way to watch. Silk Stockings is not a classic but a pale remake of a classic and shoehorned awkwardly into a poor musical, to boot. In the inevitable comparisons with Garbo in the original, Ninotchka, Cyd fares very poorly, indeed. IMHO, even without the Garbo paradigm for comparison, this is one of Cyd's poorest performances. I like to forget it. Deep In My Heart is poor as biography and worse a film, the plot being completely overwhelmed by an exhausting parade of routines and stars being themselves. The paucity and quality of your recommendations rather makes my point for me. Singing in the Rain alone remains in the pop culture consciousness. Even the wonderful Brigadoon is not regarded as highly or seen as often it deserves.

John 3:16

[–] lizcarlo87 9 years ago

She is defiantly beautiful.

[–] BobbyWaggs 7 years ago

At age 44-45 she had a nice sexy dancing role in Dean Martin's 1st Matt Helm film --- she was so gorgeous in that film and so sexy it's so hard to believe she was 45 ---

In my opinion the Sexiest actress of the era ...